The present invention relates to a connector, in particular, to a connector that may be connected to connection targets such as a flexible printed circuit (FPC), a flexible flat cable (FFC), a rigid circuit board and other printed wiring boards, the connection targets each comprising a sheet-like base on a surface of which a conductor pattern is disposed.
The FPC here refers to one in which conductive foil (mostly copper foil) is stuck to a flexible film-like insulator base (mostly polyimide), and the conductive foil is subjected to etching by means of lithographic technique to form wiring. The FFC refers to a cable in which flat-shaped conductors are disposed in an alignment and are covered by a sheet-like insulator. The rigid circuit board refers to one in which conductive foil (mostly copper foil) is stuck to a rigid insulator base (mostly glass epoxy), and the conductive foil is subjected to etching by means of lithographic technique to form wiring. Other printed wiring boards each refer to one in which a flexible film-like insulator base or rigid insulator base is provided with wiring through screen printing using a conductive ink.
As a connector of this type to be connected to a connection target, for example, JP 2013-196784A discloses a connector 3 that can be fitted with a connection target 1 by only a single action of inserting the connection target 1 into an insertion portion 2A of a housing 2, as illustrated in FIG. 12.
The housing 2 of the connector 3 is provided with an operation member 4. A rotation shaft portion that is formed so as to project from both ends of the operation member 4 is inserted in guide recess portions 2B formed in the housing 2 while holding portions 5A of contacts 5 are hooked on the operation member 4, whereby the operation member 4 is held by the housing 2 rotatably around the rotation shaft portion.
As illustrated in FIG. 13A, each actuation portion 4A that is integrally formed with the operation member 4 partially projects inside the insertion portion 2A of the housing 2. Accordingly, when the connection target 1 is inserted into the insertion portion 2A, the tip portion of the connection target 1 comes into contact with the actuation portion 4A of the operation member 4 and pushes the actuation portion 4A in the insertion direction of the connection target 1, whereby the operation member 4 rotates, as illustrated in FIG. 13B.
When the connection target 1 is further inserted into the insertion portion 2A while the operation member 4 has rotated in this manner, and each cutout 1A provided in the connection target 1 is located beneath the actuation portion 4A of the operation member 4, as illustrated in FIG. 13C, the operation member 4 that has rotated receives restoring force from the holding portions 5A of the contacts 5 and returns to the original position shown in FIG. 13A, whereby fitting between the connector and the connection target 1 is established. In this process, the actuation portion 4A of the operation member 4 is inserted into the cutout 1A of the connection target 1, resulting in prevention of the connection target 1 from falling off the connector 3.
However, as illustrated in FIG. 13C, even with the actuation portion 4A of the operation member 4 being inserted into the cutout 1A of the connection target 1, if the connection target 1 is applied with a large withdrawal force that pulls the connection target 1 out from the connector 3, the cutout 1A of the connection target 1 would generate a pushing force to push the actuation portion 4A of the operation member 4 upward.
Since the guide recess portions 2B of the housing 2 open upward as shown in FIG. 12, the pushing force applied to the actuation portion 4A pushes the operation member 4 upward, causing not only the connection target 1 to be pulled out from the connector 3 but also the operation member 4 to possibly come off the housing 2 upward. If the operation member 4 comes off the housing 2, the contacts 5 hooked on the operation member 4 may deform beyond their elastic region, and the connector 3 may be damaged and become no longer usable.